Sake
by KatLee15
Summary: Stumbling through the dimly lit Suna streets, Naruto carried the weight of a highly intoxicated and barely conscious Hyuga heiress at his side. The blonde shinobi readjusted his grip around Hinata's waist as he came to a stop under a lone street-lamp. His mind, groggy with sleep and alcohol, could process only that her hair shone beautifully in the scarce illumination.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer blah blah blah I do not own Naruto or characters it's all Kishimoto

You all know the drill

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><p>Stumbling through the dimly lit Suna streets, Naruto carried the weight of a highly intoxicated and barely conscious Hyuga heiress at his side. The blonde shinobi readjusted his grip around Hinata's waist as he came to a stop under a lone street-lamp. His mind, groggy with sleep and alcohol, could process only that her hair shone beautifully in the scarce illumination.<p>

Hinata groaned softly and shoved her hands into Naruto, pushing him away. Her consciousness was slipping away with each step she took.

"H-Home…" She whined. Her voice was thick and irregular, a tone that sounded strange to him.

"I could definitely manage to get you home," Naruto pretended to weigh his options, "But with you hardly being able to walk, and with me hardly being able to see straight… You think maybe we should just stay here for the night?"

The kunoichi hiccupped, but didn't answer. Sighing, Naruto began walking with her once more. He squinted against the dark and searched the streets for the inn they were staying at, finding it just a few blocks down from the bar they had been almost forcibly escorted out of only ten minutes prior.

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><p>Shikamaru walked lazily behind his teammates in the bustling, after dark Suna streets. There were people talking and laughing, crowding the entrances to bars and casinos. He had one hand stuffed deep in his pocket, and one fiddling idly with his flak jacket zipper. He could hear Naruto speaking loudly to Hinata about something, sounding more and more excited as he went on. His interest was piqued, and he slowly began to tune back into the conversation between the blonde and his pale-eyed comrade.<p>

"Naruto-kun, I-I really shouldn't. I don't drink… and I couldn't possibly accept your offer. You don't owe me anything." Hinata spoke softly, smiling kindly at her friend.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, you practically saved my life today. Just let me treat you to some sake or something." Naruto flashed a wide grin, "It's been a while since we've been on a mission together anyway. We can catch up. C'mon, please?"

Shikamaru's mind wandered back to the mission they had just completed for Suna. Gaara had called them to his village for a simple ambassador meeting. Shikamaru, who often escorted the Sand siblings around Konoha, was, naturally, the one they preferred to invite to keep their alliance strong. Naruto, who still planned on being Hokage someday, and had a certain indescribable bond with the Kazekage, was also put on the ambassador team. Finally, Hinata had been selected mainly out of precaution. The journey to Suna was long, and it was in any team's best interested to have a Hyuga close by.

It was when they got to Suna around dawn that they were told about the panic which had recently swept through the political branch of the village. Important documents, along with a substantial amount of money, had been stolen by a team of hired rogue ninja from a nearby enemy country just hours before the Konoha ninja arrived. Naruto, upon hearing this, immediately offered their team's services to the Kazekage.

"We will accept no reward other than the privilege of helping out our ally." Naruto had graciously said, very much surprising the Nara boy.

It took until dusk to track down the rogue ninjas, with the help of Hinata's byakugan, who had just made camp for the night. However, a delicate trap was set by their team's weapon specialist who must have expected Suna to send shinobi their way. It was only by pure luck that Shikamaru was able to unravel their plan and alert Hinata, who then promptly grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket and yanked him away from the camp with strength that could match that of the strongest shinobi.

The victory that followed was not much of a surprise. Other than the clever trap, the ninja were not trained to Konoha standards and fairly easy to defeat.

Shikamaru was pretty proud of his team, being that the three did not work together that often and were able to complete an unexpected mission so clean and with precision.

He smiled to himself as he looked from Naruto to Hinata, appreciating having this time spent with them.

"It was really nothing… But, I suppose one drink won't hurt…" Hinata blushed as she finally succumbed to Naruto's wishes.

"Hey, you hear that Shikamaru? Hinata-chan is going to have a drink with us!" Naruto looked back at Shikamaru excitedly. But he just shook his head and smiled. "No, she'll be having a drink with _you_. You guys can relax now, but I still have work to do."

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other and both began voicing their regret that he could not go with them.

"Aw, are you sure Shikamaru-kun?"

"Can it really not wait until morning?"

The genius rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head to the side, "Well, the thing is, I kind of promised to meet Temari…" He trailed off.

The Hyuuga simply shut her mouth and began smiling at him. When Naruto looked confused and opened his mouth again, Hinata simply bumped her elbow against his a couple of times and said, "Okay, have fun Shikamaru-kun, we'll see you tomorrow." Then turned and began walking away. Naruto shrugged, waved good-bye to him, and followed suit.

The blonde and the raven-haired girl walked together for a while in silence, passing the crowded part of town. They entered cozier looking district of Suna where there were not so many people littering the street. On the right, Naruto spotted an Ichiraku-type bar.

"Alright, Hinata-chan, now for that drink I offered you." He stated as pushed over the hanging curtains and motioned for her to enter the bar. She blushed slightly as she ducked under his arm and sat down at a stool. Naruto walked in after her and took the seat on her left.

"Ah, leaf ninja. What can I get for you?" The owner said looking at their forehead protectors with a friendly smile as he was cleaning out a cup.

"A bottle of sake and two cups, please." Naruto said with a smile. The owner nodded, set a bottle on the counter in front of them, and laid two cups down. The blonde then gave the bar owner the appropriate amount of ryo.

Hinata watched as Naruto filled his cup up to the brim and drank it all down in one gulp. He sighed and closed his eyes as it went down with a slight burn. She looked at the fine line his mouth was set in. When his eyes opened, she made eye contact with him quickly; to be sure he didn't see her looking at his lips.

"Is that how I'm supposed to drink it?" Hinata asked quietly, furrowing her brow and not knowing quite what to do in this foreign situation.

Naruto looked at her for a moment, "What?"

"It's just that I've never had sake before. I'm not exactly sure how to go about this." She let out a nervous chuckle.

Naruto paused for a moment, and then laughed. "Here Hinata-chan," He took the bottle and filled her cup a little more than half way, "Try to get it down in one go. It's much better that way instead of sipping at it and having it burn each time."

"It burns?" She looked at him with wide eyes. Everyone she knew seemed to enjoy alcohol. How could that be if it hurt to drink it?

Naruto laughed even more, "Have you never had alcohol before?" He asked incredulously, already grabbing the bottle to refill his own cup.

Sure, she had been on plenty of missions where alcohol had been present. And, sure, she had accompanied her own friends to bars. But never had she drank. Frankly, she was a little scared of it. She had heard girls say things like, "Wow, what did I do last night". The idea of drinking something with the power to make you do stupid things and forget about them was a little frightening. But, because it had been Naruto to offer it to her, and because he was so excited about it, she couldn't say no. So when he asked her if she had never had alcohol with that look on his face, she definitely felt a little more than embarrassed.

Hinata, biting her lip, reached over for her cup of sake and quickly downed it like Naruto told her to. The burn was slow at first, then became a little more acute as she felt the heat reach her stomach.

"Now I have." She forced a smile which then became a grimace as she coughed.

Naruto really couldn't help himself then and began laughing so hard he gripped the counter to brace himself. The look on poor Hinata's face was too much.

She looked up at him with shy eyes, but her face quickly brightened into a smile and she began laughing at his laughter until they were both red in the face. The ice was officially broken and they talked for a while about typical things as the blonde kept refilling their drinks. An hour went by as they focused more on talking than drinking.

"Aw man, Hinata-chan, if this is your first time drinking, I'm going to get you so drunk." Naruto laughed after his sixth cup, and Hinata's third. Not only was Naruto's tolerance a lot higher than hers from years of drinking sake every now and then, but he also was a bit bigger than her and did not get drunk so easily. Hinata, on the other hand, was already a little more than buzzed. She wondered if she was drunk yet, but given than her next sentence wasn't very slurred, she didn't think so.

"Yeah, just as long as you don't take advantage of me." She said nonchalantly before her eyes widened as she realized how suggestive that sounded. She wished she hadn't said it, but Naruto didn't think anything of it.

"Nah, I just want to see how hung-over you are tomorrow morning." He shrugged and laughed, "I bet it'll be bad."

She giggled with him, "Naruto-kun, that's horrible, laughing at my future pain."

"It's okay though," He waved his hand in the air, "Because I'll probably be feeling just as bad as you."

Hinata smiled as she took another sip of sake, noticing how it did burn worse in small increments. She shrugged and downed her fourth cup. Her ears got hot and her stomach felt cozy and warm.

"Ah man, I have missed this." Naruto sighed as he turned toward her in his stool and leaned against the counter.

"What?" Hinata hiccupped, and then giggled.

"_This_. Just hanging out with a friend with nothing to do but relax. And drink, of course," He held up his cup, "As much as I love training and missions, I enjoy the chance to do something like this with someone like you."

The Hyuga heiress lifted her cup up to his with a _clink_, took a sip, and asked, "Someone like me?"

"Of course. One of my closest friends, someone who's always been there for me," He looked at her now curiously, "You know, even back when everyone hated me, you were always so nice." He nodded and took a drink. "Why is that?"

"W_ell_," She slurred a little and giggled, "When we were really little, you defended me from bullies, who then beat you up for it."

He looked up and squinted, struggling to remember.

"Then, I always really admired the fact that even though everyone was so mean to you, and you had trouble at the academy, you kept trying no matter what." She shrugged, "I had that problem at home, you know? So it really gave me the courage I needed to keep going."

Naruto smiled at her appreciatively, then nodded for her to keep going. She spun back and forth on her stool a little, swaying at each motion, trying to think of more but having trouble with her hazy memory. The heat really hit her then, and she got slightly light-headed. She shook her head to clear it away.

"_Oh_, and then there was that time you cheered me on when I had to fight Neji. I would have given up if it weren't for that. I mean, I've always had the biggest crush on you so if you believed in me, _I_ believed in me." She laid her head in her hands and pressed her cool fingers against her hot cheeks, hoping to relieve some of the redness she felt in her face.

The blonde shinobi's head snapped up in a second. He wondered if he had heard her correctly.

"Wait, what?" Naruto spat out in a panic. His heart was racing from this sudden confession of hers, "Hinata-chan, what did you just say?"

"Hm?" She asked, with her eyes closed. Her head seemed to be drooping and she idly wondered why she felt so tired. "I said that because you believed in me, I believed in myself."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond. Just then, three hulking men came in laughing with each other. The biggest of the three spotted Hinata immediately and sat down next to her. They were all dressed in civilian clothing. The man next to Hinata had a greasy, but not completely unattractive face. His biceps were big for someone who was not a trained shinobi. However, his friends had no notable features other than the fact they both looked creepy.

"Why, hello there, gorgeous girl. Can I buy you a drink?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. Hinata's eyes snapped open at the sudden danger she felt being in such close proximity to this man. Granted, he had not done anything to indicate danger, _yet_. But as a kunoichi, she was trained to be wary.

"No, thank you. I think I've had enough." She replied as kindly as she could. Her tongue felt too thick with alcohol. Besides, the only reason she was drinking tonight was because Naruto had been the one to offer her a drink.

She looked to blonde as she slid off her barstool. The sudden rush of drunkenness hit her as soon as her feet touched the ground. She grabbed onto Naruto's shoulder to stop herself from falling. As she did this, she felt a hand smack her bottom a little too hard. She turned around to muster a scowl, something she hardly ever did, at Biceps behind her.

"Alright, sweetie, but when you decide to dump your little boyfriend, come back here and I'll show you and your sweet ass what it's like to be with a real man." He smirked at her and his friends laughed behind him.

She laughed with them for a moment, placing a hand over her heart. Biceps turned around to wink at his friends. Before he turned back around to face her, Hinata placed her hand back on Naruto's shoulder to steady herself. Naruto just looked at her quizzically. As soon as the man reset his sights on her, his mouth opened to say something rude, she was sure. But before he could get any words out, her chakra enhanced foot was against his chest and pushing so hard he flew back against the wall of the building, taking his two friends with him. Hinata would later recall that she learned that move from Sakura.

"You bitch! You should have taken that as a compliment. But now I guess I'm going to have you teach you a lesson." The man started to get up, but Hinata grabbed the almost empty sake bottle in front of her and smashed the end against the edge of the counter, holding it by the narrow end.

"I am a kunoichi of the Leaf village. I dare you." She hissed. Biceps just looked at her with widened eyes and held up his hands. The owner, who had only come around in time to witness Hinata fling three men against a wall and break a bottle, scowled at Naruto and pointed towards the exit.

"Oh, Kami," Naruto took hold of Hinata's arm and gently tugged, "C'mon Hinata-chan, we need to leave." As he tried to lead her out the door, she twisted toward the counter and took one last swig of sake from her cup.

Once out in the cool night air, and away from the excitement, Hinata leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder and groaned tiredly. She stumbled over her own feet and swayed. Naruto smiled down at her and put an arm around her waist to keep her upright until they got to the inn. She sagged in his arm, so he put her arm around his shoulder. He was just beginning to notice that his vision was blurring.

Naruto sighed at the night's events. He was still surprised that Hinata had broken a bottle in preparation of a fight. He'd have to remember to tell someone about that. But mostly he was just concerned about what she said.

_I've always had the biggest crush on you_, she had said. He could have let it go easier if she'd have talked in the past tense. But her choice of present tense was worrisome. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he had never thought of her like that. He had always referred to her as weird. But on the other hand, if it was the truth, she was the one person who was nice to him before anyone else, even Iruka-sensei. If it was the truth, he appreciated it more than she would ever know. But that was the problem; _if_ it was the truth. He didn't know.

No doubt about it, Hinata was drunk. There was no telling if she even knew what she was saying. Maybe she didn't mean it the way Naruto had taken it. But, he thought, that was unlikely.

Finally, he decided, if she remembered it tomorrow morning, he would ask about it then. He was too tired and too drunk to worry about it any longer. The hour was ungodly and there was no one out and about anymore.

Stumbling through the dimly lit Suna streets, he carried the weight of a highly intoxicated and barely conscious Hinata at his side. The blonde shinobi readjusted his grip around her waist as he came to a stop under a lone street-lamp. His mind, now groggy with sleep and alcohol, could process only that her hair shone beautifully in the scarce illumination.

Hinata groaned softly and shoved her hands into Naruto, pushing him away. Her consciousness was slipping away with each step she took.

"H-Home…" She whined. Her voice was thick and irregular, a tone that sounded strange to him.

"I could definitely manage to get you home," Naruto pretended to weigh his options, "But with you hardly being able to walk, and with me hardly being able to see straight… You think maybe we should just stay here for the night?"

The kunoichi hiccupped, but didn't answer. Sighing, Naruto began walking with her once more. He squinted against the dark and searched the streets for the inn they were staying at.

Finally, after a few minutes more of walking, he located the inn. Naruto struggled for a moment with opening the door without dropping Hinata, but managed eventually. By the time Naruto got to the hallway, he realized that he didn't know where Hinata's room key was, let alone her room. He refused to wake the girl, so he innocently pat his hand against her pockets to feel for a room key. She let out a sleepy giggle.

Naruto chuckled at this, but stopped when he didn't find anything. His arms began to cramp from holding the Hyuuga girl for so long. He had to make a decision. Either take her to his room, or stand there in the hallway with cramping arms.

He hobbled into his room and turned on the light with his free shoulder. He slowly walked Hinata to the bed and softly laid her down. He made a mental note that her resting face was cute and her cheeks looked so soft with the slight blush still on her face from the alcohol. When he tried to pull away, she kept her arm glued around his neck. He smiled and reached behind his head to pry her arm off, but she groaned and kept it there.

"Hinata-chan, I'd like my arm back please so we can both go to bed." He chuckled softly.

She opened her eyes then and smiled, "Thank you Naruto-kun." She said sleepily. Then she lifted her head off the bed and kissed him gently. Her lips missed their target just slightly, but the message was conveyed. Her arm dropped from his neck and she promptly fell back asleep. But Naruto did not move for what seemed like hours. He felt heat flood his face as he turned a darker shade of red than he'd ever seen Hinata turn. He licked his lips out of sheer nervousness, but his heart clenched when he tasted a mix of sake and something sweet. Lip balm, maybe? He wasn't sure.

He grasped at his chest with is hand as he slowly made his way to the couch. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way. Maybe because it was so unlike Hinata to act that way. Naruto wasn't sure if getting Hinata drunk had been a good idea in hindsight.

He unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off before turning out the light and promptly plopping onto the couch. He felt so tired, but he couldn't bring himself to shut his eyes. He thought more about the kiss and for a moment he wished she would have kissed him completely on the lips, not just half way. He groaned at that thought. It was too confusing. Flinging an arm over his face, he turned in toward the couch, hoping the darkness would help him fall asleep.

Just moments before finally dozing off, he heard Hinata sigh gently in her sleep. Naruto groaned audibly at the rush of feelings it gave him, and the new blush that crept across his face.

"Too confusing." He mumbled to himself. He was too drunk and too tired to address anything at the moment. He would think about it in the morning, he told himself, before finally falling into a dreamless sleep.

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><p>Wow I started writing this one day like a year ago and then I finished it in one night a year later. wow. So.. if I get a couple of reviews and follows then I'll write more to it.. but if not, then I really don't see the point. But thank you to anyone who does end up reading it. Oh, and if I continue writing this, hopefully it'll have future lemon if people still call it that. So that's why it's rated M<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto awoke the first time to a loud thud on the floor in front of him. His eyes shot open, only to reveal darkness. He had had just a couple hours of sleep, he decided. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Hinata on her hands and knees positioned on the floor with the blanket twisted around her legs, and her forehead pressed against the side of the bed.

Before he could decide how to react, she moaned painfully and began coughing. Slowly, she crawled clumsily around the bed and into the open bathroom door. Echoes of dry heaving, and finally vomiting, emanated from across the room. The blonde rubbed his face and kicked his legs over the side of the couch. It was his fault she drank tonight; he would at least see her through it. When he stood up, Naruto felt a slight throbbing in his temple, but nothing compared to what Hinata was most likely feeling at that moment.

He walked barefoot onto the cold tile floor and squatted down next to the Hyuga who was hugging the toilet bowl. "It's okay, Hinata-chan, it's your first time getting drunk. It'd be a shame if you didn't have the whole experience." He stated sarcastically, rubbing her back softly. He was still in a sleepy daze.

She let out a soft breath that they both understood was an attempt at laughing. "C'mon," Naruto said once her gagging was done and she heaved one final sigh, "Wash your mouth out and let's get back to bed."

Hinata did as he said, then meandered her way back to the still warm bed. She lifted the blanket off the floor and wrapped herself in a cocoon of cotton. Naruto gave her shoulder one last pat and said, "Night, Hinata-chan. I hope you feel better in the morning."

"Night." Hinata croaked out, her throat still burning from being sick. She fell back asleep almost immediately.

The second time Naruto was awoken, it was not from the thuds of drunken girls falling out of bed, instead, it was the thuds from a messenger of the Kazekage pounding on his room door early the next morning. He could tell by the way the dim sunlight filtered through the inn window that it was early morning.

"Naruto-sama, please open up. The Kazekage has called for a private meeting with you." The messenger stated loud enough to be heard through the door. Naruto wondered what Gaara could possibly need from him. Although he was arguably next in line to become the Hokage, Naruto generally did not attend important meetings. People like Shikamaru, who were more or less official ambassadors for Konoha were called to meet privately with the Kazekage.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I'm coming." The blonde rubbed his eyes and idly looked into a mirror on the wall. His hair was disheveled and sticking out even more than usual. The orange jacket he usually wore had been discarded the night before, leaving him in just a plain white t-shirt. His pants, which he would have normally taken off for bed, but considering he had a room-guest who he didn't want to scare by stripping down to his underwear, were still on. The blonde hurried to the bathroom in an attempt to clean off any traces of being drunk the previous night. Once his face was sufficiently washed, he bent over the nightstand, next to the bed that Hinata was still sleeping in, and scribbled a note. In one swift motion, he reached onto the floor to grab his jacket, and then with a click of the lock and the creak of wood, Naruto opened the door of his room to greet the messenger.

"Greetings, Naruto-sama. I am Shou, here to escort you to the Kazekage." The messenger bowed to him.

"Thank you," Naruto bowed back, and then looked at Shou, "So do you have any idea what-", Naruto stopped himself when he saw Shou leaning over to look past him, into his room. Shou raised an eyebrow to him, gesturing towards the fan of black hair that was splayed out on the pillow of his bed, one delicate hand peeking out from under the covers which otherwise engulfed the girl. The blanket gently rose and fell with each breath she took.

"I see why it took you so long to come to the door, Naruto-sama." Shou smirked at him.

Naruto's face immediately turned beet red as he stepped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"It's definitely not what you think!" He sputtered out as Shou began leading Naruto down the hall of the inn and toward the exit.

"Sure it's not. You just have a beautiful girl in your bed, but it is definitely not what I think." The messenger said sarcastically and laughed, "Do not worry, Uzumaki-sama, I will not tell."

Baffled by what to say in response, the blonde simply laughed and shook his head. Once out of the inn and onto the sandy streets of Suna, Naruto inhaled the fresh air deeply. He grunted a sigh when he stretched out his arms and back as they walked.

"So anyway, what is this about?" The blue eyed shinobi asked, "I wasn't expecting a meeting with Gaara today."

"I cannot say," Shou replied with a shrug, "All I know is that it is classified."

"Hm." Naruto said thoughtfully. Maybe they were going to be debriefed on the mission they had taken yesterday? No, or they would have asked for Hinata as well.

He thought back to her sleeping peacefully in his bed. Worrying about how she was feeling after her night of being sick, the blonde glanced back to the inn in the distance. He shook his head, she was a ninja. She had endured far worse on missions, he was sure. However, he couldn't help but feel a little responsible for her inevitable hangover. It had been his idea to buy her sake. Naruto had insisted upon it, in fact, so she would agree.

As he mulled over the events of last night, his mind finally found its way to the nonchalant kiss she had given him. Not that it hadn't been nice, even if it was a drunken kiss, he was just a little confused on where it had come from. He had had few women kiss him throughout his life. Most of them had come from affectionate comrades, such as Sakura who would kiss him on the forehead every now and then before saying goodbye. But every so often, he was kissed by a woman who, he guessed, had felt some pull of attraction towards him. Or, he thought, was trying to kill him on a mission.

Hinata, to his knowledge, was not an affectionate comrade. She loved her fellow ninja, but never did she kiss or hug them. And, as far as Naruto had seen, Hinata was not attracted to him. When he thought back on it, she did blush and stutter as she spoke to him, but didn't she do that with everyone? And finally, he hoped to Kami that Hinata was not trying to kill him. He pushed the thought away immediately; Hinata was nothing if not loyal.

But, Naruto's brow furrowed, not only had she kissed him, she had also admitted to having a big crush on him. This piece of evidence pointed straight to the second conclusion. Hinata was attracted to Naruto.

Trying to hide the slight pink of his cheeks from Shou, Naruto looked away and bit on the inside of his cheek.

Unfortunately, he had a hard time believing that. His little experience with woman paired with the fact that for a long time, he was used to everyone hating him instead of loving him, Naruto just couldn't believe that she could like him in that way. Sure, she admitted to having a crush on him, but drunken people say a lot of things they don't mean. She could have been confused, or maybe she had been talking about someone else.

As Naruto and Shou approached the Kazekage tower, the blonde shinobi decided to stop worrying about the situation. He would forget it happened and never bring it up again.

Just then, Shikamaru exited the building and began walking in Naruto's direction. The Nara boy smiled and gave a lazy wave to him.

"Hey, Shikamaru! Listen, I have something to tell you!" Naruto smacked a hand over his mouth. Hadn't he just decided to drop it? Before he could take it back, Shikamaru nodded as he walked by and said, "Alright, after your meeting we can all meet back up at the inn. You can tell Hinata and me then."

"Wait a second!" Naruto said in a panic at Shikamaru's misunderstanding. But the genius was already past him, lifting an arm in the air to signify a goodbye. Naruto was going to turn around, but Shou put a hand on his back and said, "No time, Uzumaki-sama, we must meet with the Kazekage on schedule."

The blonde sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders as they entered the building. Why did he have such a big mouth? He told himself to forget about the situation, but when he saw his friend, he just felt like he had to tell someone. Even if he was confused about the Hinata situation, that wasn't to say he wasn't stoked about being kissed by a girl. Naruto's obnoxiousness had simply instructed him to tell someone.

When they reached the top floor of the Kazekage building, Naruto was shuffled into a meeting room with one long table with one chair on each side. He was told to take a seat and wait for Gaara. He waited for what seemed like hours, but it could have been mere minutes since there was no clock to indicate the time. Naruto found himself wondering if he was in an interrogation room. At this thought, he found himself sweating nervously. Was he going to be interrogated? Had he done something wrong?

Thankfully, the thought was completely invalid the moment Gaara walked in with a smile on his face and one arm extended. Naruto smiled back and grasped his hand firmly in a handshake.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara stated slowly, "It sure has been awhile. But, unfortunately, we do not have time to catch up today." He took a seat and gestured for Naruto to take a seat as well.

"As you may have noticed, this is our interrogation room. I chose to meet you in here because the walls are sound-proof." Naruto glanced around the room and gulped anxiously.

"Hopefully you understand how important it is that this meeting stays classified." Gaara folded his hands in a very Tsunade-like way. Naruto nodded his agreement.

"Now, what we need to discuss is the mission you took yesterday. We did not know, at first, which documents they had stolen. It was after you retrieved what was taken and returned them that we realized what they were after. The documents they stole were sealed security plans of Konoha, everything from the men who watch the gates, to ANBU intelligence. These procedures were sent to us as a sign of trust and to also help us better our security. As you know, Suna and Konoha are very close in alliance, mostly because of you and I, I would say. If there are any two countries which can depend on another, it is ours. But, that is not the point I am trying to make." Gaara leaned forward in his chair. "We believe that someone out there _wants_ Konoha's security plans and procedures. We do not know which country hired the shinobi that your team and you tracked down. At best, we only know that Konoha may be a target of attack."

"Kazekage-sama, the war has been over for two years now, why would Konoha be the target of attack suddenly?" Naruto asked.

"That's a good question. However, I can no longer be of help." Gaara stood up and began walking towards Naruto. The red haired boy sat a manila envelope in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, the people of not only Konoha, but also Suna are trusting that you will be able to return these documents to the Hokage swiftly, and stealthily. Tsunade-sama will be more able to understand the situation. You will be escorted to our gates in one hour, but then the rest is up to you."

The blonde looked up at his friend, "Yes, Kazekage-sama. I will do everything in my power to complete this task." Naruto then stood up and hugged his friend. Gaara was reluctant at first, but gave Naruto a small pat on the back. When he pulled away, Gaara continued as Naruto took the envelope and stuffed it away inside his clothing.

"But listen closely, Naruto, no one can know what is in this envelope. From now on, only you and the Hokage will know. If asked by your team, you can only respond that it is classified. You may very well come into contact with enemies on your journey home. If one of your teammates is captured, Konoha will stand a much better chance if they are not familiar with what you are carrying. Have I made myself clear?" He asked with sincerity.

"Yes. No one can know, got it." Naruto thought back to earlier when, despite his wishes, he had blurted out what he was thinking to Shikamaru. With the fate of Konoha in his hands, he would have to keep a tight seal on his big mouth.

"Very well. Now, go get your things. My men will meet you at the inn." The Kazekage made his way to the door, but before opening it he turned to Naruto and said with a smile, "It really was nice to see you again, Naruto Uzumaki. Please, come visit soon." Then he was gone.

When Hinata woke up, the first thing she noticed was how dry her mouth was. The second thing she noticed was the sharp, persistent throb of her head. She cradled her head in her hands as she plopped her legs over the bed and onto the floor. A piece of paper on the nightstand beside her caught her eye due to the chicken scratch that was written on it.

_Urgent meeting. Be back later. _

She flipped the note over to see if there was anything else, but unfortunately, there wasn't. Hinata heaved a sigh as she laid back down on the bed. She was in Naruto's room, it was obvious. His mission pack was laid clumsily in the corner, with various items strewn out. She vaguely remembered him carrying her to bed. Less hazily, she remembered having to get up and vomit in the middle of the night. Naruto had been there, so naturally, she wasn't surprised when she found herself in his bed that next morning.

Hinata rolled over onto her side. A flood of memories came to her from the night before. She remembered her dream of kissing Naruto. A light blush crept across her face as she smiled. He had laid her down on the bed, and without a thought, she kissed him. It had felt so real, but the giveaway of it being a dream was that she never could have done that. Drunk or not.

It was not that she didn't want to kiss him. She could remember, after being pressed to, admitting to the girls at a sleepover that she almost constantly wanted to kiss Naruto. It was no secret to them that she had liked him since the academy. However, even after she fought Pain, the blue eyed boy had never shown any signs of knowing, or acknowledging her feelings. Later, Sakura would tell her that since the Kyubi had taken over after that, it was likely Naruto just didn't remember. The Hyuga girl had decided to leave it be afterwards. She had confessed and that was that. It was hard enough to do it the first time, she didn't want to imagine doing it a second time.

The dark haired girl finally sat up tiredly and yawned, causing the ache in her head to intensify. It was then that the sudden flood of her bladder caused her to jump up and rush to the bathroom. When she had relieved herself, Hinata looked into the mirror over the sink. Her hair was flat and full of tangles from a night of tossing and turning. Her usual porcelain-like appearance was traded in for oily skin and slight bags under her eyes. The cheeks which were usually pale, unless Naruto was near, were darkened in a permanent, sweaty flush.

"Oh, Kami, I am never getting drunk again." She shook her head as she watched herself in the mirror. Leaning down to the sink bowl, she first splashed her face a couple of times. Then, she took three nice scoopfuls of water and drank, thankful for the wetness now restored to her mouth. After she toweled off her face, Hinata still decided that the thing she needed most was a long, hot shower. Exiting the bathroom, Hinata looked at the alarm clock. It read 7:50 A.M. It was a little later than she was used to getting up, but she was mostly glad she hadn't slept in too much after her late night.

The pale eyed girl, hoping to not leave a mess for the maid, walked over to the bed and made it. Then, with a throb in her skull and absolutely no pep in her walk, Hinata left her friend's room to walk down the hall into her own.

On the way back to the inn, Naruto decided to take to the rooftops. Conspicuous as it was, there were less people to bump into and _accidentally_ lose your valuables. When he got to the inn, he decided to enter through a hallway window, not for any safety reasons, but because being a ninja was just fun sometimes. The blonde walked through the hallway and down to the door with the appropriate room number. Upon stepping into his room, he found Shikamaru sitting cross legged on his bed.

"Shikamaru? How did you get in here without a key?" Naruto asked, coming inside and shutting the door behind him.

"Eh. Ino taught me how to pick locks with a bobby pin once." Shikamaru shrugged. "I told Hinata that you would be here soon and that you had something to tell us both."

"Well," Naruto started, but when he heard footsteps approach the door, followed by three soft knocks, he stopped to let the Hyuga girl in.

"Hello Shikamaru-kun, Naruto-kun." She smiled and nodded to the both of them, then took a seat on the bed next to Shikamaru.

"Alright," Shikamaru said, "What's up?"

The blonde looked around nervously, scared to say the wrong thing. "Well," He began, "I can't tell you exactly why, but we have to return to Konoha as soon as possible. Gaara's men will be escorting us to the gate in about half an hour."

"You can't tell us why?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto scratched at his face with a finger, "No. It's classified. But we're leaving soon so you guys should go get your bags and stuff." He glanced at Hinata, but when he saw that she was already looking at him, he diverted his eyes, subconsciously unwilling to make eye contact. The three were completely immersed in awkward silence until Hinata stood up and spoke.

"Okay, well I guess I will go get my things from my room." She walked towards the door, sparing the two boys one confused glance before shaking her head and leaving.

As the door clicked shut and her footsteps faded, Shikamaru looked to Naruto.

"What was that abo-"

"Hinata kissed me last night." Naruto said in a loud whisper and smacked a hand over his mouth. He had to tell someone or he was going to explode. A great weight left his chest at this confession.

"Hinata… _kissed_…you?" Shikamaru's head perked up.

"Yes! And I don't know what to do. Hell, I don't even know if she remembers it, considering that she didn't act like anything as wrong just now." Naruto said as he thought back to just moments ago. Hinata had walked in, not even with a blush, and sat down on his bed. He considered them very good friends, but was completely lost as to what to say to her. This created a whole new awkward tension between the two. But, she hadn't looked like anything was wrong until Naruto had spoken, then avoided eye contact.

He figured that it would be unlikely for her to remember everything of the night before. Her throwing up last night had been a pretty good indication that she drank too much. He knew that the kiss was caused by drunkenness, but he wasn't sure if she even knew she did it.

"Why wouldn't she remember? I mean, I'm sure that kissing you would be a pretty big thing for her." Shikamaru asked, thinking about the feelings that Hinata had for Naruto.

"She was drunk. Really drunk. Like, carry-her-to-bed drunk." The blonde shrugged.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he spoke, "So, you're telling me that you got Hinata _Hyuga_ wasted, then proceeded to carry her to bed. Please tell me you at least took her to her own room."

"I was drunk too, okay? And I couldn't find her room key!" Naruto tried to defend himself.

"You let her stay the night in your room!? _And_ you let her kiss you!?" Shikamaru whisper shouted back. It was unspoken between the boys that they had to attempt to be quiet. Hinata's ninja trained ears could most likely pick up on conversations in other rooms.

"I didn't just _let_ her kiss me. I put her in bed, and she just leaned up and kissed me. Just like that." Naruto snapped his fingers.

"You had better hope she doesn't remember. Hiashi will kill you if and when he finds out." Shikamaru stood up and crossed his arms. "But listen, Naruto, it's not a secret why she kissed you, especially if she was drunk."

"What? Why not?" He asked curiously.

"If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you." The Nara boy stated with another shrug. "But maybe," Shikamaru added, "You should talk to Hinata about this, you know, instead of me."

"What am I supposed to say?" Naruto asked, then in a mock voice of himself said, "Oh, hey, Hinata-chan. Listen, you kissed me last night when you were drunk and it could have meant nothing but I spent hours pondering over the fact that I may or may not have gotten butterflies like a little girl."

"Ah, and now we get to the root of the problem." Shikamaru smiled, "Naruto may have feelings for the Hyuga girl. How troublesome a predicament."

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it again. Shikamaru was right. The feelings which had raided his heart last night were confusing, but were feelings all the same. Of course he had always respected Hinata and admired her as a strengthening kunoichi, but did he _like_ her? He had never thought about it before. But with all that had happened, he was beginning to think that maybe he could.

He remembered last night when Hinata had been embarrassed because she had never drank before. When she had asked him how to drink the cup of sake, Naruto could remember thinking how cute it was. And her smile was something of a mystery to him. He rarely saw it under normal circumstances. She was so used to giving everyone her shy, polite smile. However, last night, she had given him her radiant, happy smile more than once. He remembered thinking that she should smile like that more often.

The blue eyed boy pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought.

"Anyway, Naruto, I'm going to go get my bag from my room. I'll meet you back in here. Okay?" Shikamaru stuck a hand in his pocket and meandered his way to the door.

"Yeah." Was all Naruto said as he waved his hand to dismiss him, lost in his own thoughts.

There was no doubt about it, Hinata could practically cut the awkward in the air with a kunai. After leaving Naruto's room to fetch her bags, the Hyuga girl just thought the awkward feeling in the air was a fluke. It wasn't until Gaara's men had escorted them to the gates and they were well on their way to Konoha that she realized it was serious.

They ran at full speed in a triangle, Naruto and Shikamaru ahead and Hinata being the point in the back. Every now and then she could see blue eyes glance back at her, then quickly look forward again. At other times, she found Shikamaru and Naruto passing looks to each other. Not only did she feel like they were having a silent conversation about her, but she also was a little disappointed at being left out of the loop.

She had thought, after spending a night drunk together, they would form a better friendship and bond. However, to her disappointment, it only seemed to worsen their connection.

In the late afternoon of that day, the three stopped at a small creek for a quick snack. And to also sooth their burning muscles, but none of them would ever admit it. It was early June so needless to say, they were all excited to spend time near a body of water. Hinata happily rolled up her pants and stuck her feet in as she ate a granola bar. As she glanced over, she could see Naruto unzipping his jacket and fanning it to cool off. He then put both hands on his sides and leaned back as far as possible. Audible pops could be heard coming from his spine. Hinata winced as she heard it, imaging that it must have hurt. However, her wincing stopped when she noticed his shirt coming up to reveal a manila envelope. And also a taut, tan stomach. But mostly she was concerned about the manila envelope. As he stood back up, Hinata hoped to make conversation.

"Naruto-kun, what is in the envelope?" She asked thoughtfully as she gestured towards his stomach.

"Oh, um," Naruto looked at it nervously before zipping his jacket back up, "Just some letters Gaara wanted delivered to Konoha."

"Why didn't he just send a bird?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Um," Naruto tried to think of a good reason, "Well there's a lot of letters in here, and he thought we could do it faster anyway." He laughed shakily and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

Over a ways and laying under a tree, Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," The blonde said a little too loudly, "You guys finish up, I think I'll go scout ahead a little bit.

"Naruto-kun, you know that that's usually my job." Hinata smiled to him as she stood up, prepared to activate her byakugan.

"No! No, you guys stay here and relax. I've got it covered. Besides, I know you're probably not feeling too well today anyway." Naruto put his hands up and started backing away towards the path.

Hinata's face began turning red in embarrassment, but she shooed the feeling off and shrugged. It was then that she went over to sit next to Shikamaru as the blue eyed boy bolted away.

"Shikamaru-kun, do you think Naruto-kun is acting strange?" Hinata leaned forward as she asked.

"Isn't he always acting strange?" Shikamaru answered with another question.

"Well, yes," She giggled softly, "But I mean stranger than normal. Especially towards me, I feel."

Shikamaru sympathized with the girl, but told himself not to get involved. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged, noncommittally.

"Have I done something wrong?" She asked, her eyes big as she frowned.

The brown haired boy sighed and said, "No, actually, what you've done is probably a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Hinata perked up at this.

"I told myself not to get involved, but I feel like if things are going to get better, someone has to push it. Do you remember anything from last night?" He asked.

"Well yes, but what are you getting at, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata's face was beginning to darken.

"Apparently," He sighed and rolled his head to the side, "You did something last night that made Naruto reevaluate how you feel about him."

As the realization dawned on the poor girl's face, Shikamaru quickly added, "But it's not that big of a deal, Hinata, everyone does troublesome things when they're drunk."

"I told him that I'm in love with him!?" She covered her mouth and looked at Shikamaru.

"What? No, but you just told me," Shikamaru laughed, "No, Hinata, you kissed him. Which, again, isn't that big of a deal so please don't-". The words could not leave his mouth in time as he watched her fall over and hit her head against the tree trunk with a _thud_.

"Oh, Kami, this is the last time I play matchmaker." Shikamaru groaned.

Naruto came back to find his two teammates napping under a tree. He couldn't help but notice Hinata's still blushing face. The blonde took a seat next to the sleeping girl and looked back and forth between her and Shikamaru.

"Psst." Naruto poked her leg with a finger. Then, he tried again with Shikamaru this time. Neither one awoke, but he couldn't bring himself to try anymore. If his two friends were exhausted enough to fall asleep on break, then who was he to interrupt? A well-rested ninja fights better than a ninja who isn't.

As he sat there, Naruto's eyes came to rest upon the dark haired girl's face. He noted everything from the way her long eyelashes curled daintily, to the way her pink cheeks were puffed out, to the soft red of her lips. For a moment, Naruto found himself wanting to kiss her. Just to try it out and see if it inspired feelings anything like the night before. As he leaned forward slowly, just to get a better look, a light breeze blew by, causing small goosebumps to rise along her neck. Naruto bit his lip softly, but was startled out of his daze when Shikamaru began to stir and sat up.

"Well?" The Nara boy asked, "is the path clear?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, sorry for taking so long this time around. I've been pretty busy... and also lazy. Soo.. here it is

* * *

><p>"Well?" The Nara boy asked, "Is the path clear?"<p>

Naruto jumped up as quickly as possible, rubbing the back of his neck. He chuckled nervously and said, "Yeah, yeah, the path is clear all right."

When the three had gotten back on the road, after Shikamaru sent Naruto away so he could wake Hinata in private to remind her to keep her cool, things were just as awkward as before. Only now, Hinata knew the truth.

Hinata tried to suppress the rising anxiousness in her chest by thinking logically about the situation. She had kissed him. Some small part of her told her to get drunk more often, but she immediately shook her head at that. It was a mistake, she would tell him. She hadn't meant to, she would tell him. She wasn't completely in love with him, she would tell him.

But, when would she tell him this? Between the blushing and the fainting, how would she be able to get the words out of her mouth? And why bring it up in the first place when Naruto didn't mention it to her himself? He had told Shikamaru, but not her. Hinata frowned at this. Naruto had not enlightened her on the subject himself. Was he embarrassed? Had he told Shikamaru with a frown and look of disgust on his face?

It didn't matter, the Hyuga girl bit her lip, she would regret it forever if she did not apologize for her actions. This decision left her with a wrench in her gut. She had to approach him all by herself and admit out loud what happened. Her face reddened as more anxiety flooded her body.

However, it wasn't two minutes after they began running on the path again that Hinata's keen eyes sensed danger.

"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, there are ninja approaching from the north." Hinata said coolly. They had not yet reached the border of the Land of Wind. Konoha was still a good two days away.

The two boys in front of her halted and looked in the direction Hinata had indicated. The sense of chakra was becoming stronger as the shinobi came closer.

"I thought you said the path was clear, Naruto." Shikamaru eyed the blonde.

"I thought it _was_ clear." Naruto shrugged and got in a fighting stance. Though, later, Naruto would admit that he had been too busy thinking about Hinata to inspect the road thoroughly.

"What are you doing? There's no reason so start an unnecessary fight, dumbass. They may be friendly." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, slipping his hands into his pockets. He could almost see the steam come out of Naruto's ears as he turned red and stuck out his bottom lip.

"I'm not a dumbass. I just have a feeling they won't be." He whined and crossed his arms as he tried to defend himself.

Hinata, who had been ignoring the two up to this point, had activated her byakugan. Two ninja were approaching fast. The direction they were approaching from indicated that they were not from Konoha, and were most likely sent by Amegakure, or Kusagakure.

When the figures finally appeared, it was obvious to Hinata that they were from Amegakure, though there were no obvious hitai-ates that she could see. However, they were clothed in long, dark, waterproof cloaks to shield from the rain, and their faces were pale from the lack of sunlight. The two were chunin, judging by the standard ninja garb they wore beneath their cloaks and chakra level.

They gazed at the three appraisingly, then one spoke up, "Ah, Konohagakure ninja." He looked at Naruto before turning to his friend to raise an eyebrow at him. "We thought we might find you here."

The three looked at each other, and then Shikamaru stepped forward to assume his role as team leader. In that moment, the man who had just spoken rushed toward the Nara boy to throw a right hook, which Shikamaru lazily ducked under before jumping back. The second man used the moment of confusion to his advantage and sent kunai flying in Naruto and Hinata's direction.

Suddenly, a fight broke out between the Konoha ninja and the Amegakure ninja. Obviously, the enemies were outnumbered. But Hinata couldn't help but think that they may outmatch them in brute strength when the second man began fighting with her hand to hand. His blows, which were more or less ordinary, indicated that he was not trained in chakra control, but had intensive strength training. She used her taijutsu with moderate chakra, not wanted to deplete a fair amount this early in the fight. It wasn't until he pulled out a kunai and cut the side of her cheek with an acute sting that she decided she had had enough fooling around.

"It may not have occurred to you yet," She began when he came at her for a final punch which she easily side stepped and appeared behind him, "who you are fighting." Her chakra enhanced fists hit multiple pressure points on her enemy's back until he was successfully unconscious and fell forward into the dirt. She wiped her hands and smiled to herself. In the distance, she could hear the _clink_ of kunai.

When Hinata rejoined her teammates, Naruto was stuffing the manila envelope back into his shirt, and the initial enemy was standing under a tree, held there by Shikamaru's shadow.

"You're not getting your hands on this, asshole!" Naruto yelled, sticking his tongue out and zipping his jacket up all the way.

"So, would you like to tell us why you attacked us?" Shikamaru smirked and asked lazily.

"Fuck you, Konoha scum." The man spat, "Kill us, I dare you. It'll only make him angrier."

"Who's 'him'?" Shikamaru eyed him skeptically.

"You'll find out soon enough." The Amegakure ninja rolled his eyes.

Naruto glanced at Hinata as Shikamaru interrogated the man, but did a double take when he saw the blood running down her cheek. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and pointed to his cheek. The Hyuga girl tilted her head in confusion and lifted a hand up to her cheek. When she inspected her fingers, she saw the blood. She lifted her hand back up to cover the cut from Naruto's view, then she made a face and mouthed '_oops_'. The blonde's mouth slowly widened into a smile and she smiled back before looking down at her feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The Nara boy asked him.

The man looked around menacingly before fixing his eyes on Shikamaru again, "It means whatever you think it means."

The air beside the genius's ears changed suddenly and he stumbled to the side to see the enemy Hinata had defeated back on his feet and swinging.

Shikamaru, in that moment, released his shadow jutsu as he dodged another few blows from him. The enemy jumped back to rejoin his friend.

"See you later." One said. Then they were gone in burst of smoke, leaving three angry ninja in mid-stride.

After a few seconds of silence, Shikamaru dropped his head and twirled around on his foot. "Well," He said, "I think we had better get to Tsunade as fast as possible."

"Let's get back to the path." Hinata sighed when she noted the fight had taken them a little off course.

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded solemnly, both of them upset at the idea of the enemies getting away.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto started towards her as they found their way to the road again.

"Hm?" She looked up at him, but found herself unable to breathe when he lifted a calloused hand to wipe some dried blood off her cheek. Hinata didn't move as she waited for him to say something when his hand seemed hesitant to leave her face.

"You should, um, probably heal that… or something." He shrugged and took a step back.

"Yes." She nodded and reached into her pack, her cheeks blazing. She fumbled around, hyperaware of the stare that Naruto kept on her, until she found some ointment. She unscrewed the lid, gave Naruto a polite smile, and dabbed some onto her cheek, spreading it over the superficial wound. Her heart was still beating rapidly as she put the ointment back and continued walking.

When the team got back to the road, they immediately jumped into the trees to run full speed all the way to Konoha. With their recent attack, they decided to take short, frequent breaks all the way there instead of camping for the night in an attempt to not be found again. Hinata kept her eyes peeled the entire time for more enemies. But her eyes were also peeled for Naruto, who, in her 360 vision, could be seen glancing back at her occasionally. Each time he did it, she would smile to herself once he looked away. She hoped that the awkwardness between them was disappearing. However, when the time was right, she would still apologize to him for kissing him the night before.

Hinata thought on Shikamaru's words. He had told her it wasn't a big deal. Granted, it probably wasn't. But to her? She had never kissed anyone romantically in her life. The only man she had ever even liked romantically had been Naruto. And now, when she was nineteen years old, she had kissed him for the first time and she hadn't even been sober enough to enjoy it. Needless to say, even if it was embarrassing, she regretted not doing it on her own freewill. When she got to Konoha and things had settled back down, she promised herself that she would discuss all of this with Naruto.

* * *

><p>They neared the gates of Konoha just after dawn on the third day of their travel. Full speed running with only short, but relatively frequent breaks had left them all drained. But, getting the documents and information to Tsunade came before anything else. The threat that possibly posed against the village could be very severe. So the closer they got, the harder they pushed themselves until they burst through the village gates and kept going all the way to the Hokage tower.<p>

"Ah, Naruto, what a pleasure." Shizune smiled at him when he was the first to open the doors to Tsunade's office. When Hinata and Shikamaru filed in behind him, Shizune's smile widened, "Shikamaru and Hinata! It's so nice to see you two. I thought your mission would take longer."

The three bowed to the Hokage before Naruto unzipped his jacket to take out the manila envelope finally.

"Tsunade-sama," Naruto stepped forward and handed the envelope over, "The Kazekage has sent us back with the task of delivering these documents back to you." Naruto stated formally.

"Eh? But I sent these as an act of good faith…" The Hokage opened the envelope and took out a stack of papers.

"Yes, however, a few days ago, ninja broke into the Kazekage building and stole them. We tracked them down and took them back without knowing what they were. It wasn't until Gaara called me to a meeting and explained that I had to send these back before they got into the wrong hands." Naruto said before stepping back.

"The wrong hands? Do 'the wrong hands' want our security plans?" Tsunade folded her hands.

"That is what Gaara believes." Naruto nodded.

"Alright, then we will alert the guards and-"

"That is not all, Tsunade-sama." Shikamaru said, cutting her off. She simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"We were also attacked on the way back," He looked over and Naruto, then Hinata, "They attempted to take the envelope from Naruto. When asked why they attacked us, they mentioned that if we killed them, we would only make 'him' angrier."

"Their superior? Did they give a name?" Her eyes lit with interest.

"No, they were able to teleport before we could press for more information." Shikamaru averted his eyes.

"So we have nothing on the ninja who want to infiltrate our village." Tsunade's eyebrows lowered.

"Actually," Hinata piped up, "I strongly believe they were Amegakure ninja."

"Is that so? Hm." Tsunade looked at Shizune who simply shrugged. "Okay, well, we will double our security, alert the guards, and send out ANBU to gather intelligence. Is there any other information you can tell me about your mission?"

The three looked at each other and shook their heads. However, in that moment, they all thought about what had happened between the Hyuga girl and the Uzumaki boy, but decided that it wasn't vital enough to the mission to say out loud.

"Then I suggest you all go get some rest and turn in your mission reports before the week is over." Tsunade politely gave them a wave of dismissal, and spun her chair around.

Once the three were back onto the streets of Konoha, Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh.

"Alright guys," He said, "It's been fun. I'm going to go nap now." Shikamaru turned and waved goodbye over his head.

Hinata laughed and said goodbye as well, before she turned around and began walking. It wasn't three steps later that she reminded herself to talk to Naruto about what happened. She twirled on one foot and opened her mouth, but her crippling anxiety stopped her from saying anything. This left her there, standing awkwardly with her mouth half open and Naruto staring at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Naruto-kun." Was all she could manage to say under his scrutiny.

"Yes, Hinata-chan?" His hands were stuffed into his pockets in a very Shikamaru-like manner. The soft summer breeze blowing is spiky locks over his forehead and into his eyes. He lifted a hand to brush through his hair which only deepened Hinata's silence as the air caught in her throat.

"Will you… walk with me?" She asked shyly. "I mean, if it's too out of the way…" She left off.

"No, it's fine. I was just going to go home and heat up some ramen anyway." He shrugged and flashed a smile before appearing at her side to walk with her.

After a moment of silent walking, save for the leaves rustling in the wind and the gentle _click-clack_ of shoes, Hinata swallowed her shyness and said, "So, I-I wanted to say thank you for buying me a drink the other night."

"It's nothing," He smiled and glanced down at her before fixing his gaze ahead again, "I was happy to."

"I also wanted to apologize." She said softly. Hinata could almost feel herself shaking from the nervousness.

"Apologize? What for?" Naruto asked. He still wasn't sure if she had remembered what happened or not. He had mixed feelings about it. Did he want her forget about it because it was a mistake on her part? Or did he want her to remember it because he may or may not have hope that it happens again?

"For," She looked down at her shoes, then up at Naruto, "Saying anything weird or doing anything weird. I don't really remember all that happened." She shrugged and smiled, though mentally beating herself up for not having the courage to approach that specific subject. But she also wasn't lying. She barely remembered the events of that night.

"Well, you did half start a bar fight." Naruto laughed.

"I _what_?" She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You don't remember? It was so badass. You broke a sake bottle to fight these three guys with. I mean, it was their own fault though, really." The blonde put a hand on her back, feigning comfort when he saw the mortification that passed through her expression. Goosebumps rose on her back under her jacket where his hand was.

"Oh my goodness." She lifted her hands up to cover her face, then looked up at Naruto through spread fingers. "I can't believe I did that. Am I what they call a violent drunk?"

Naruto's hand moved up to her shoulder as he laughed again. His eyes studied her face. Her eyes peeking through her hands and the look of embarrassment on her face were almost too cute to bear. The blonde idly wondered why his hand was still touching her. He let his arm fall back down to his side.

"Totally," He said sarcastically, "Next time I need to fight someone, I'll buy you a bottle of sake and take you with me."

She laughed at the mental image of her fighting like Lee when he gets drunk and reached over to hit him in the arm gently. She noticed how comfortable she felt in that moment.

They continued navigating through the empty streets of their home village. Naruto was smiling contently with his hands behind his head. Unbeknownst to Hinata, who had a thoughtful look on her face and was walking with her hands clasped behind her back, the blonde kept stealing glances at her.

It was the first time he really saw her as what she was; a woman. All these years, Naruto had thought of her as just some weird girl. As they both got older, he simply thought of her as a comrade. But now, just walking through the village with her, he felt differently. He felt comfortable walking with Hinata.

He realized then what he was feeling. Not lonely. Of all the time he had spent with Sakura, or other female teammates, he had only friendship in mind. But with Hinata? He suddenly felt like there were more possibilities. He suddenly felt like he wanted Hinata to remember the kiss.

As the rounded the corner which led to Naruto's street, his palms became sweaty. He needed her to know about the kiss. And he wanted to tell her about the confused feelings he'd been having. But then he thought about her possible responses. The worst she could say is that it _had_ been a mistake. His ego would take a nose-dive after that; after sitting there, pondering over what it all meant, then finally deciding that he had feelings for the girl. New, strange, and not yet fully awoken feelings, but feelings indeed.

Then his mind went back to when she told him about her crush on him. He felt stupid for thinking that that admittance was less than what it was. There were two pieces of evidence now that were screaming at him to tell her.

"Hinata-chan," He said when they reached his apartment building. Naruto turned in front of the raven-haired girl to face her.

"There is something we need to talk about."

* * *

><p>Wow okay so i'm sorry this is so short, but like I said, I've been busy.. so it's either really long chapters like once a month, or short ones more frequently.<p>

Also, I'm sorry I suck at plots and everything else that goes into a story. I just... I really really really wanted a story that showed Naruto and Hinata's relationship, but it's not like "Naruto I love you." "wow hinata, since you said that I just realized that I'm totally in love with you too"

I'm kinda shooting for a slower relationship progression.

but

ugh whatever ok

constructive criticism is welcome.

thank.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun was beginning to shine as it slowly emerged from over the horizon. Many of Konoha's residents flung open their windows to breathe in the new day. A flock of birds flew overhead, singing away their contentment. The hustle and bustle of the average Konoha day had not begun yet. But, the prerequisites had been set in motion. The restaurants started their ovens, young genin were arriving at the training fields, and Iruka-sensei had just unlocked the Academy doors.

And somewhere, in the midst of it all was a boy in an orange jumpsuit, sweating profusely and about to tell a girl that he has feelings for her.

"There is something we need to talk about." The boy said, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck.

Talking about his feelings had never scared him before. Throughout his younger years, he had all but screamed from the rooftops that he loved Sakura. But something about this situation scared him. Maybe it was how real it felt. He knew that Sakura was always in love with Sasuke and confessing his love would never change anything. If he told Hinata that his heart beat faster in her presence, or that he got butterflies when he heard her name, things would ultimately change between them.

Or maybe it was the look of sheer panic that was displayed across Hinata's face before he even finished the sentence.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something as he lifted his hand to gently touch her arm. He closed his mouth.

"I know what you're going to say." Hinata looked down and took half a step back. "And I want to tell you that I apologize. It was a mistake."

The blonde's heart fell into his stomach. His fingers, which had gently been resting against the side of her arm dropped to his side again. His eyes fell to his feet.

"Is that… not what you wanted to hear?" Hinata was looking at him now quizzically, observing his features carefully.

"It's not that… it's just," He furrowed his brow, "Why did you kiss me?" He desperately wanted to know.

"You told me," He continued, inching towards her, "That you had a big crush on me when we were drinking. Then you kiss me in the hotel room. Why?"

"I told you that?" She whispered, covering her mouth as her face went beet red.

"Yes. And I've been thinking about it constantly since it happened. I feel…" He stopped himself, "I just want to know why."

"I told you that," She looked at him, feeling a new courage arise within her, "Because it's true. I've always had a crush on you." She stated matter-of-factly.

Naruto was looking at her now with a slight blush sprinkled upon his cheeks. He smiled.

"So why did you kiss me?" He asked. His smile provoked a smile from her as well.

She shrugged, "Because I was drunk, and do drunken people not always express their true feelings?" She asked rhetorically.

And there it was. She had admitted it aloud to him. A great weight lifted from the Hyuga girl's shoulders. Naruto knew now, and whatever happened next was out of her control.

"So it wasn't a mistake?" He asked softly.

She shook her head in response.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and laughed. This was good. He was happy with her response. Without thinking, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, trapping her there. He lifted her up and spun her around in a gentle circle before setting her down. He made a mental note that she was heavier than she looked.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow. Her face was a light pink, no doubt from the sudden contact and close proximity.

"Hinata-chan, I have been waiting all day to tell you about all these feelings you've given me." He gestured to his heart. His nervousness was gone now.

Hinata's smile widened, then she looked down. When she looked back up at Naruto, the smile was gone.

"What?" He questioned.

"It's nothing," She waved her hand, "I'm just tired. We've been on the road for three days, you know."

"Oh. Okay, well how about this; you go home and get some rest, then I'll come by later and we'll go out for dinner?" Naruto smiled at her again, unable to control it.

Hinata's eyes widened, "Yes, of course. That sounds great!"

The blonde bit his lip gently and, before he could think otherwise of it, reached out to softly hold Hinata's chin as he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good," He said, "Then it's a date."

"A date." She repeated softly, lifting a hand to the spot his lips had just touched. She began backing away slowly. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun." Then she turned and began walking home.

When she wasn't looking any longer, Naruto began silently celebrating. He pumped his fist once before jumping up and down in a circle. When he was done, he looked back at her figure as she walked home. He noticed the sway of her hips and the gentle curve of her legs. And, though he would never admit it, he noticed the way the material of her pants was pulled taut over her backside.

Naruto slowly averted his gaze away, mentally scolding himself, before heading into his apartment to celebrate some more and then ultimately pass out on the couch from exhaustion.

* * *

><p>As the Hyuga girl rounded the corner and was successfully out of Naruto's view, a familiar skip in her step overcame her. The same skip she had when Naruto had told her that he liked people like her back in their genin days.<p>

Naruto Uzumaki had just asked her on a date. And then kissed her on the cheek! She celebrated in her head.

But the closer she got to home, the more she thought about it. She wondered about the suddenness of it all. It was only a four days ago when she had kissed him. Before that, they had only socialized as friends and comrades. Now he was asking her on a date and kissing her. She couldn't help but think that if she hadn't kissed him, then Naruto wouldn't be asking her out. Actually, she thought, that's the truth. If she had not kissed him, would he have asked her out ever?

She was thankful for her actions, but skeptical of Naruto's feelings now. How could he have feelings for her now, but not before? This question is what took her smile away before.

Hinata approached her apartment door, fished out her keys from her pocket, and slowly entered her home. It wasn't long ago that she began renting the place. Her sister had been made the official heiress and she was proud of her sister and clan. But, she felt that with Neji gone now, there was no reason for her to live at the Hyuga compound any longer. Her family respected her decisions and welcomed her back any time she wished to come see them.

Her apartment, Hinata thought, was cute and practical. She admired herself for living on her own. Downstairs, where she entered, was a kitchen on her left, a living room on her right, and a utility room straight ahead. The color scheme was light, with off-whites and purples. The coffee table in her living room was where her favorite vase of homegrown flowers lied.

The upstairs of her apartment was simply her bedroom and bathroom. Her favorite part of her home, she thought, was the small balcony attached to her bedroom. This is where she grew all of her flowers and where she liked to sit and read books in the sunlight. Sometimes, she would keep the doors to the balcony open at night so she could hear the sounds of nighttime in the summer.

When she entered this apartment, she trudged up the stairs, flopped onto the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

Hinata awoke that afternoon with more anxiety than she experienced on the way home from Suna. She laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling as she thought about the possibilities of tonight. There was a chance that tonight would be so awkward that the two would agree their relationship would not work. There was also a chance that things would go decently, but Naruto would then realize why he never had feelings for her before. Then lastly, there was a chance that things go so well that the two, immediately after the date, go back to her place to make love.

They had known each other forever, first date sex did not seem so bad when put in that context, she thought to herself. She desperately hoped that the scenario tonight would be the third possibility. However, with her luck, what happened tonight would be something completely different from the three possibilities.

Hinata imagined what sex with Naruto would be like. Their relationship was only just beginning, but it didn't hurt to think about it, she told herself. She imagined that Naruto was a virgin as well. Most ninja didn't focus on romantic elements. Except Ino. The thing about Ino is that she slept with many men, and she enjoyed it. Even though she was a ninja and that came first and foremost, she still took the time to form romantic relationships, unlike the majority.

Most ninja had sex here and there. But Hinata and the rest of Konoha 11, for the most part, given that there were two exceptions that came to mind, were virgins.

The Hyuga girl then wondered what Naruto would be like in bed, given that he was inexperienced. She shrugged then because if they were together long enough, they would both find a way to make everything work.

The raven-haired girl rolled over and glanced at her clock. It read 4:12. She assumed Naruto would be coming by around five or six so she hopped out of bed and into the shower.

When she was nice and clean, Hinata stood in front of a foggy bathroom mirror and brushed her hair. She hummed to herself as she gently pulled out all the knots and tangles. Beads of water fell to the floor from her wet body.

Absentmindedly, Hinata wondered where Naruto would be taking her. There was Ichiraku, the most popular of Naruto's favorite restaurants, Amaguriama, the sweets shop, the dango shop, or Yakiniku Q. Hinata couldn't imagine Naruto taking her anywhere but Ichiraku.

With that thought, she simply put on her normal outfit, a simple mesh shirt underneath a purple jacket, along with her typical pants and shoes.

Once done with cleaning herself up, Hinata looked at the clock again. It read 4:53. She sighed and decided she would paint her nails while she waited, hoping to distract herself from the nervousness.

When she finally heard the knocks on her front door, Hinata had been attempting to blow on her freshly painted toenails. With excitement, she flew downstairs and opened the door. What she found however, was not what she was expecting.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He was wearing a traditional black kimono and holding a bundle of flowers in his hand.

"Hinata-chan! These are for you." He handed her the flowers in a swift motion before glancing past her into her home. "Nice apartment, Hinata-chan, I've never seen it before."

"Naruto-kun, come in," She said, motioning for him to enter, as she took the flowers from him, "Why are you wearing a kimono? I thought we would just be going to Ichiraku." She asked, walking over to the kitchen to set the flowers in a vase.

"Nope." He smiled happily, "I'm taking you to that new fancy place… what was it called…" He wondered aloud.

"Kozue?!" Hinata's eyes widened, "But that is a very fancy restaurant, Naruto-kun, and very expensive as well."

"Exactly. It's a date, isn't it? C'mon, Hinata-chan, let's go!" He said excitedly, grabbing her hand.

She smiled, but then looked down at her clothes, "Wait, Naruto-kun, I can't go in this."

"What? You look great!" Naruto said in his obliviousness, giving a gentle tug on her hand.

"No, no, let me go upstairs and see if I have something suitable to wear. You don't just go in a place like Kozue with your ninja clothes on, silly." She said with a laugh.

Naruto just smiled after her and went to sit on the couch. He glanced around nonchalantly at her apartment decor. Flowers were abundant in Hinata's apartment, with vases and crates of white lilies mixed with lilac. Naruto breathed deeply with his nose. Now, he thought, it made sense why she smelled so nice. Hinata surrounded herself with flowers.

Naruto's head perked up when he heard shuffling around upstairs and the thump of feet on stairs. When she came back down, Naruto had to manually make sure he was breathing. She was clad in a light purple kimono. Her hair was put up into an elegant bun. As she came down the stairs, she smiled at him, causing the breath to hitch in his throat.

"Wow. You sure are beautiful, Hinata-chan." He stood up and offered a hand to her.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun, you look handsome as well." She smiled so bright her cheeks became sore.

The two exited the building and made their way to Kozue.

* * *

><p>By the time they were finished with their meal, Naruto was feeling tipsy from the three glasses of wine he had consumed with his food. According to the light pink tint to Hinata's cheeks, Naruto guessed she was feeling the same way. He was grateful that they weren't both falling down drunk again. He didn't want any confusing feelings tonight. However, when they were waiting on their bill, Hinata broached a topic he wasn't expecting.<p>

"So why now?" She drank the last sip of her wine, "I mean, I know that I kissed you," She blushed then, "But…" She trailed off.

"But why not before?" He asked for her and she looked away and nodded.

The waitress came around then with their bill. Naruto laid down the correct amount of money and gestured to Hinata that it was time to leave. Once they were outside in the chilly summer night air, Naruto started again.

"Why not before…" He repeated as they walked together slowly, as if trying to spend as much time as possible, "I never really thought of you as more than a friend, you know?" He shrugged.

"Yes, so why now are you taking me on a date then?" She wondered aloud.

"Because," He glanced up at the stars, then down to his side at Hinata, "I like you, Hinata-chan." He smiled down at her, but he could tell by the way she looked back at him that it wasn't the answer she was looking for.

She didn't say anything though, just stared at her feet as they walked. It was a few minutes before Naruto couldn't take the silence anymore and reached over to run his hand from the top of her head and down through her hair. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her towards him then and squeezed softly. Her shoulder was pressed against the top of his ribs. She giggled audibly, satisfying Naruto. His hand slid from her shoulder, down her back, and around to her hand, which he bumped softly with his own before grasping it gently. The two walked this way until they got to her street.

"So," He said finally as they approached Hinata's apartment, "Can I see you again?" The blonde fiddled with the collar of her kimono in order to get closer.

"I think so." She replied with a smile, looking up at him.

He kissed her then. It was too fast and it was a little awkward when he pulled away after one kiss and just looked at her. But then he went in again, slowly this time. As they both took the time to become accustomed to the sensation, their mouths molded together. Hinata gave a sigh of contentment in between kisses and Naruto had to stop for a moment when he realized what that sound did to his insides.

In response to this new feeling, Naruto's lips traveled from her lips to her cheek, and from her cheek down to her neck as his left hand came up to cradle the back of her head. It was when he felt the Hyuga girl's body press firmly against his suddenly, that he brought his lips back up to hers for one last kiss.

"I think we should take this slow, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, taking a step back and rubbing his face. He was trying not to make it obvious that he was sweating.

"That's easy for you to say," She laughed, "You only started liking me after what happened in Suna. Yet, I've liked you since I first met you."

Naruto let out a sigh of discontentment, "Why was I so dumb back then?"

"Well actually," She took his hand and kissed it, "You were dumb up until four days ago." The sly smile on her face caused Naruto to stare at her in awe for a moment.

"You keep surprising me, Hinata-chan. I thought I knew you, but I'm realizing recently that I'm only just now getting to know who you are." He smiled sincerely.

Hinata's face lit up at this, "I hope you can continue to get to know me better then." The raven-haired girl took a couple steps back and waved to him, "Goodnight, Naruto-kun. I'll see you soon."

With that, she disappeared into her apartment. As the door clicked behind her, she could hear the whoops and hollering that emitted from the boy outside her apartment.

"Yes!" She heard as she pressed her ear against the door to listen closely, "I kissed Hinata-chan!"

The Hyuga girl smiled and made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom where she meandered over to the balcony doors. She slowly pulled them open to peek out into the darkness. All she saw, however, was Naruto's form making its way across the rooftops towards his home.

Hinata eased the doors shut and immediately flung herself onto the bed.

"Oh my Kami." She whispered into the sheets.

Naruto kissed her. Naruto _kissed _her. _Naruto kissed her!_

She forced herself off the bed, bouncing with each step she took toward her closet. She began undressing out of the uncomfortable kimono she wore, and putting on her pajamas.

The kiss, she thought, had been exactly as she could have hoped. The spark she had felt was completely undeniable. And hopefully, by the way Naruto had reacted, he felt it too. She hoped maybe next time they kissed, he would find the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth. Then she stopped what she was doing.

There would be a next time, she realized. There would be many kisses to come, after all, they were technically dating. She was not yet his girlfriend, but if dates were being planned; they were dating.

With a squeal, she slipped the remaining garments of her kimono off. She thought back to the kiss again and how he had moved across her cheek and down to her neck. A kiss on the lips was one thing, but she knew that a kiss on the neck meant something else. Or at least she had heard that from Ino. For a moment, she imagined Naruto continuing his kissing on a straight path downwards. A familiar tingle of excitement rose within the base of her stomach. But she realized that as the Naruto in her imagination got lower, so did the tingling.

Hinata's blushed when she found herself reaching down to accommodate the feeling. But she simply shook her head to herself and decided to call it a night as she crawled under the covers.

As the Hyuga girl laid down for bed, a familiar blonde shinobi was having feelings similar to hers and was, in that moment, reaching down under his sheets.

* * *

><p>Sorry this one took so long. I also don't really like this chapter. eh.<p>

Not sure how I feel about the ending. i mean that's how i wanted it to end but idunno how that's gonna fly with everyone else who reads this

but whatever

i'll try to be faster with the next chapter :)

and as always, thanks for reading


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